Portsmouth Kate The Great Russian Imperial Stout

Big ups (as usual) to tpd975 for bringing this rare treat to our weekly tasting. Pours very dark brown with thin mocha head. The aroma is rich yummy and inviting with both roasty to burnt malts and chocolate to sweet molasses goodness. I also get a bit of toasted bread and burnt malts too. Yum. Rich flavors enter on a creamy conveyer belt. I get sweetness from malts, molasses, dark chocolate malts and just a faint kiss of dark fruitiness. It becomes a bit bitter with burnt malts and faint astringency around midway before alcohol notes grow some into the finish. This brew leaves a pleasing roastiness, burnt to chocolate maltiness behind and lingering deep into the after taste.

Aroma is deep cocoa, umame, red fruit, plums, port. Taste is creamy, slightly alcoholic, sticky, sweet. This is fucking stellar. Alcohol makes its presence known, but is not overwhelming in any way. Chalky cocoa and alcohol, but nothing so much as the viscosity of Dark Lord. Just a very good imperial stout. Lingers well, has some beefiness to it too. More notes: A lot more alcohol present now. Red fruits, piny citrus hops in the taste and finish. Lingers well with the hoppiness and malting. This needs more time in the cellar. We’ll see how well this ages.

Black with brown twinges with a nice tan head. Smell is dark fruits, raisans, malts, and good sweetness. Taste is sweet, sugary, medium body, malts, and dark fruits. Overall good beer.

Courtesy of TPD975. Fairly boozy aroma with burnt fruit and malt notes. Lesser hints of chocolate follow. Flavor is much the same, but the alcohol is even more pronounced and it tastes much more alcoholic than the abv indicates. Very nice mouth feel and quite solid, but slightly disappointing when considering the hype around it.

bottle, black pour with no head, nose is chocolate and coffee, flavor is the best stout i have had, very smooth with a great body and density, finish is perfect